Anger over Executions Fuels Protests in Iran

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Anger over Executions Fuels Protests in Iran

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Night demonstrations flared up in several Iranian cities, hours after the execution of two protesters, and amid international condemnation of Iranian authorities.

Iran’s judiciary announced on Sunday jail terms of up to 10 years for people who called for strikes as part of a month-long protest movement. Four Iranians have been convicted against the background of inciting a strike by truck drivers.

Media outlets also reported on authorities convicting Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former lawmaker, and the daughter of former Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

On Sunday evening, anti-regime demonstrations resurged in the Sattar Khan neighborhood at the heart of the capital, Tehran.

The day before, Iranian protesters took to the streets in 20 of Tehran’s neighborhoods against authorities executing Mehdi Karami and Sayed Mohammad Hosseini.

They chanted anti-establishment slogans like “Death to Khamenei,” “We do not want the government that kills children,” “Death to the Basij,” and “Death to the Revolutionary Guards.”

Protesters also warned that “poverty, corruption and hiked prices” were driving them harder towards overthrowing the regime.

A group of protesters took to the streets in the cities of Karaj and Arak, according to videos shared on social media.

A group of women demonstrated in the city of Najafabad in Isfahan province on Sunday. They chanted slogans condemning the regime, according to a video clip posted on Twitter.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) published a video showing strikes in the market of the Kurdish city of Saqqez.

Karami and Hosseini were hanged to death after hasty trials on charges that they participated in the killing of a member of the Basij paramilitary group in November.

These executions drew widespread international condemnation and brought up the number of executions in connection to the protests to four.

A previous execution of Iranians in December sparked domestic and international outrage and the imposition of new Western sanctions on Iran.



Over 12,300 Civilians Killed since Start of Ukraine War, UN says

A woman reacts at the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in central Kyiv, Ukraine, December 20, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo
A woman reacts at the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in central Kyiv, Ukraine, December 20, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo
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Over 12,300 Civilians Killed since Start of Ukraine War, UN says

A woman reacts at the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in central Kyiv, Ukraine, December 20, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo
A woman reacts at the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in central Kyiv, Ukraine, December 20, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo

More than 12,300 civilians have been killed in the Ukraine war since Russia invaded nearly three years ago, a UN official said on Wednesday, noting higher casualties in recent months amid the use of drones, long-range missiles and glide bombs, according to Reuters.

"Russian armed forces intensified their operations to capture further territory in eastern Ukraine, with a severe impact on civilians in frontline areas, particularly in the Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions," Nada Al-Nashif, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement, referring to developments since September 2024.

"We are deeply concerned by the impacts on civilians of the increased use of drones and the use of new weapons," she added, referring in part to Russia's use of highly destructive guided bombs or glide bombs in residential areas.